A Flicker Meant To Be A Flame
by FiendishPanda09
Summary: Olivia Pruitt never intended to fall for someone she can't possibly stand. Right in the middle of her transfer from America, in the middle of a war. Can she choose what's more important to her? Can two houses really be intertwined? SBXOC JPxLE R
1. Things are Gonna Change

There was an awful excitement in the air that seemed to drift in between the cracks of the small pick up truck. Olivia Pruitt sat facing the window, staring aimlessly at the buildings they passed along the road. Her younger sister Alyson quietly bounced around occasionally in the seat next to her. The spill of excitement was only felt from Alyson who eagerly awaited her plane flight to England. Olivia on the other hand would be happy to do nothing but wait. She felt strange having to move to a new school not to mention a new country. And as if it weren't bad enough she was going to a school to learn wizardry. Olivia twitched slightly as they pulled up into the passenger boarding parking lot.

It was only a few months ago that Olivia and her sister learned they were of a prestigious wizard family whose named was held in the highest honor. Their mother had precisely used the word: Purebloods. However, not only did the sisters know nothing about their witchly abilities, neither of them even knew they were British.

Alyson threw her hands in the air letting out a howl of glee. She nudged her sister gesturing her to open the car door. Olivia nonchalantly got out being vigorously brushed passed by her younger sister.

"Why are you always so hyper?" Olivia asked with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

The younger sister shot a glare at her sister. "Whya sucha Debbie Downer? Geez, Liv, we're going to England for Christ's sake!" Alyson playfully hit her sister on the back and began to pull her bags from the bed of the truck.

Their mother met them on the other side of the truck. She had already grabbed Olivia's bags and had set them down beside her. Cassandra Pruitt was the youngest of the Everline family who had all attended New York's Higgleburm's school for the gifted wizards and witches. She soon married Jared Pruitt who was also a pureblooded wizard who had attended Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was his dream to have his only children attend his most prestigious school in England. So, naturally, when he passed away from a grave illness, Cassandra Pruitt would fulfill his wishes for their daughters.

"Here are you bags, Liv."

Olivia looked at her mother, briefly before reaching down and gathering her things. "Thanks Mom. Or should I say Mum?"

Mrs. Pruitt laughed. "Very Funny. Now hurry or we're going to miss our plane!"

_Darn wouldn't want that to happen. _Olivia thought sheepishly as she followed suit behind her mother and sister in through the airport doors.

Olivia noticed quickly that every house in England all looked the same. She didn't like it. She hated it. No matter how many times Cassandra Pruitt tried to reassure her daughter that their house was completely different, Olivia wasn't buying it. On the other hand, Alyson thought it all very picturesque and 'cute'. It took them almost a two hour drive from the airport to their fairly new home. It was classified as fairly because it was once owned by their father's family. A large family heirloom that the three women would all be inheriting.

When they finally reached the house all three women dropped their jaws and widened their eyes in astonishment. It was a huge two story home with what looked like four car garages on either side of the home. It was painted an opal white with quaint little rusty red colored shutters. Windows were placed on every inch of the home which looked to reveal lots of bedrooms. All of this was surrounded by trees and the greenest grass the three had ever seen.

"Woah." Was all Alyson could manage.

Olivia sat dumbfounded as they kept driving toward the gigantic house. This was nothing compared to their small home in the outskirts of Buffalo. She wondered if the inside was just as beautiful as the inside. _Of course it is! _She thought to herself. _How could it not be? Just look at it! Fabulous. _

"This. Is…amazing girls." Mrs. Pruitt spoke carefully while driving into the first garage on the left side of the house.

The inside of the home was definitely not a let down. It was just as beautiful as the outside. With newly refurbished hardwood floors and a large staircase that split into two different directions. On the walls that lead down a long corridor were pictures of relatives the girls had never laid eyes on. Olivia ran her fingers gently across the portrait of her father, dressed in his best suit doing his best to not smile.

"Hmm. I miss you dad." Olivia whispered under her breath. She turned to leave when there was a strange ripping noise coming from all the pictures.

"Well I miss you too, Livy."

Olivia slowly turned on her heel to face the now moving picture of her father smiling widely. There was a sudden surge of fear that soared through her body. Without another hesitant moment she ran out of the hallway screaming bloody murder.

She collided hard with another body. Alyson and Olivia both ended up on the floor of the dining room, Olivia panting for breath and still screaming incoherent babble.

"Dad's ghost is haunting his portrait!" She grabbed a hold of her sister's shoulders' and began shaking her.

"WHAT?" Alyson replied trying to calm down her sister.

Just as the two began babbling together, their mother walked in and began laughing hysterically. She eyed the two girls who were now sitting wide eyed with curiosity streaked across their faces.

"I keep forgetting you girls don't know anything about the wizarding world!" Mrs. Pruitt sighed and took each girl by hand, helping them up and explaining to them everything she possibly could about their world.

"So that's absolutely…normal?" Alyson blurted after their mother had finished her speech.

Olivia just stared at her mother trying to take it all in without criticizing her every word.

Mrs. Pruitt nodded in response.

"So, this Hodgewats place is basically like a boarding school for freaks?" Olivia spat.

Alyson rolled her eyes. "Hogwarts, and no. As far as I'm concerned we're not the only freaks anymore, Liv. Remember when we were little and you could levitate things and I could break things when I was angry? Shoot. We were always being called freaks. At least we know why, now."

"Well it'll be like adjusting to any new school, really. Liv, you'll be a sixth year and Aly will be a fifth. And hopefully you're both in the same house." Mrs. Pruitt said while getting up from her seat.

"Same house?" The sisters repeated in unison.

"Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw. Your father was in Sytherin. I didn't have houses like that in New York. So I'm not exactly sure how it works."

Olivia folded her arms and thought to herself what kind of House Slytherin was if her father had been put into it. He was very proud, confident and a bit sarcastic. _Just like me. _Olivia thought.

"Hmm. Weird." Alyson mumbled.

"Very." Olivia added.

Mrs. Pruitt leaned over the sink. "Well you two leave for Hogwarts in three weeks. I've already bought a few of your things and we'll have to get you some wands. But accessories aside you two are in tip top shape for school!"

Alyson giggled joyfully. Olivia sneezed.

Later that night when the three had finished dinner and had talked some more about their new lives, Olivia headed up to her room and sat at the windowsill. She had noticed earlier that there was a small pond right outside her window. It was now glistening with the reflection of the moon shining brightly over head. To Olivia it was almost mesmerizing, watching the small waves being pushed back and forth by the wind. She felt lonely for a fleeting moment before realizing that, that was ridiculous. She quietly prayed for a silent miracle to happen to her while she was attending Hogwarts. To have some meaning. To feel like she could finally fit in somewhere. A place where no one was always watching her. A place she could feel safe and alive all at the same time. Olivia prayed so badly for Hogwarts to be that place.

It was three o'clock in the morning when Olivia realized that she was tired…and that her life was going to drastically change forever.


	2. The Train Ride

A flash of light shot through the small compartment of the train. Olivia threw her hands over her face shielding the bright light. Alyson tightly closed her eyes, holding onto her newly acquired wand with a very firm grasp. She had uttered a spell she had recently read about and decided that the train ride to Hogwarts was where she would experiment. The bright blinding light only lasted a few seconds before retreating back into the wand. Olivia slowly moved her hands away from her face. She stared blankly at her sister.

"That was strange." She muttered.

Alyson nodded still a little dumbfounded. "Ya."

Olivia Pruitt looked to her own wand resting beside her on the compartment seat. The wand maker, Mr. Ollivander, had said the eleven inch, cherry and dragon heartstring had come to take a liking to her. It made her curious as to what exactly he meant, until her mother explained how the wand chooses the wizard. _Bizarre. _Olivia thought rolling it now between her fingers, twisting and twirling it around like a baton. No matter how much more interesting the train ride became, Olivia sat impatient waiting for it to end. She wanted so badly to be sorted already, to know her house, and too see this Hogwarts.

Large spiky red flowers began growing out of the window opposite Olivia. She jumped back a bit startled

"Sorry." Alyson apologized guiltily.

"Ok seriously put that thing away before I break it, Aly. Now." Olivia threatened.

Alyson raised her brows shakily putting down her wand which incidentally dropped to the seat with a loud bang with the large flowers exploding spraying the sisters with crimson colored petals.

"WHAT THE FU..-" Olivia was cut off by the sound of numerous people in the surrounding compartments screaming, and cursing.

There were a few seconds of laughter and confusion coming from outside the sisters' compartment which had abruptly stopped when they could both heard clearly the running of someone towards them inaudibly growling softly. Olivia anticipated some sort of large security man bursting in through the door wielding a gun and shouting, 'Get to the ground!'. Who they encountered was much different.

A girl who looked to be about their age stood in the compartment doorway fuming, her red hair seemingly matching her mood. Her almond shaped, green eyes surveyed the sisters warily, sizing them up and down until she was satisfied that she could handle the situation.

Lily Evans was the newly appointed Gryffindor prefect ,and with her new shiny badge resting daintily on her robes, she decided to make use of her powers. When she heard the loud bang coming from a few good compartments ahead of hers she'd figure she'd find four unlucky boys who were not on her good side already. Instead she found two wide eyed girls her year whom she had never laid eyes on before.

"Um…Is everything alright in here?" Lily asked cautiously, hoping to ease the fear in both girls equally dark lavender eyes.

Alyson opened her mouth to speak but was beat by Olivia, "My idiot of a sister was just trying out her wand. Really, she is quite stupid. Forgive her." Her tone was curt and her eyes had began to size up Lily, making her out to be nothing more then a girl with a shiny badge.

"Hey!" Alyson squeaked. "That's totally not cool, Liv."

_Americans? They must be the new girls this year. _Lily thought before replying to Olivia. "Right, well, you caused quite a disturbance. I was just checking on it to make sure it wasn't something too serious." Lily sighed and held out her hand to Olivia. "My name's Lily…Lily Evans."

Olivia shook her hand lightly and watched her as she held out her hand to Alyson. "My name is Olivia Pruitt and this-" She pointed to Alyson, "Is..-"

"Alyson. You can call me Aly, though." Alyson smiled and scooted over patting the seat next to her. "So, Lil, sit with us and tell us all about Hogwarts."

There was a slight tension in the air as Olivia and Lily locked eyes momentarily. Lily smiled and shook her head.

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

Olivia scoffed. "You people are so polite. Don't worry it's fine."

Lily nodded. _She's not very inviting, but well, what can I do?_ Trying her best to be polite, Lily took the seat next to Alyson and began babbling on and on about everything and anything on Hogwarts. Olivia sat eyes transfixed on Lily, trying _her _best to be 'polite'. Nothing really caught her attention seeing as her mother had already pretty much explained everything to her. Still, Olivia would nod and ask unimportant questions so that Lily thought she was actually listening.

"Wow. That's really neat, Lil. Do you mind if I call you, Lil?" Alyson asked excitedly.

"No, not at all." Lily replied, smiling.

Olivia focused her attention on the door of the compartment again. Her concentration being broken by a question from Lily, that Olivia had obviously not been paying attention too.

"Sorry what?" She replied lazily.

Lily blinked. "I asked you how old you were."

"Sixteen."

"Oh! Me too! Maybe we'll be in the same house!"

Alyson snorted. "Unless you're in Slytherin I doubt she'll want to be in any other house."

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Why is that?" Lily asked, very intrigued.

"Our father was in Slytherin. He passed away last year." Alyson responded, shrugging.

"Oh."

The tension in the air had returned when Olivia sighed and stood up, opened the compartment door, and walked out into the hallway. Lily watched her with the utmost curiosity, immediately taking back the assumption she had made before about her being not very inviting. _She's just a bit saddened. That's all. _Lily made it a point to befriend her, Slytherin or not.

The hallway was deserted for the most part. A few people flitted by here and there rushing with their friends to no doubt meet other friends in their compartments. She wandered down to the end of the hall encountering a little old lady who was idly pushing a cart full of sweets Olivia had never seen. The old lady smiled up at Olivia, stopping the cart and gesturing to the candies.

"Like one, deary?" The old women asked, still smiling sweetly.

Olivia shook her head. "No thank you ma'm." She returned the smile.

"Two chocolate frogs for the beaut with the pretty smile."

Olivia looked beside her to find a tall boy with dark shaggy hair, that seemed to almost completely cover his equally dark gray eyes. If she weren't stunned by his immediate presence and his haughty demeanor, his extreme good looks would have done the trick. The old lady pulled two strange small boxes from the cart and handed them to Olivia.

"Uh…No, I don't…-"

Before Olivia could reply to the old lady, the boy had scooped up the boxes and thanked her. He looked to Olivia who was looking back with a glint of annoyance.

"So, Sweetheart where exactly did you come from with that accent?" His voice was smooth with just a bit of arrogance.

"Excuse me?" She replied curtly.

He chuckled. "Name's Sirius, love. Yours?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. _Love? _She thought crossing her arms. "Look, thanks for the frogs but really you didn't have to. Really. I don't like chocolate."

She began to walk back towards her compartment. Sirius took a few quick steps and found his way in front of Olivia.

"Look, beautiful I didn't mean to come off so…-"

"Cliché?" Olivia finished his sentence, arms still crossed.

He smirked, a smirk that hid an ulterior meaning. "Right." He chuckled, "So with that said, how about you come with me to my compartment and we can get to know each other…better."

_Is this guy for real?_ Olivia shook her head in disbelief.

"Oy! Padfoot, come 'ere!" A voice shouted from an open compartment.

"I'm busy here, Prongs." He gestured slightly to Olivia.

Olivia furrowed her brows. "The only thing you're gonna be busy with is yourself." She held out a hand of protest as Sirius opened his mouth for a response.

With that Olivia stepped around Sirius, leaving him with his jaw dropped and the unmistakable sound of sniggering.

_I'm pretty sure guys like that are all pigs…no matter what country. _Olivia thought disgusted as she quickly found her way back to her own compartment.

**(Panda: Forgive me if I get a few things wrong or backwards. I'm not very good when it comes to the marauders and I haven't read harry potter in so long. I'm researching everything to make sure I get it somewhat right! :D also I'm trying not to make this too fluffy…but I can't promise anything! Thanks R&R please.)**


	3. Welcome to Slytherin

"Slytherin!" The old decrepit hat shouted from atop Alyson's shaky head. Her expression hadn't change the moment the hat was pulled out and placed on her by Professor McGonagall. She had a look of complete disgust that only intensified as she hopped of the stool and ran next to her sister.

Professor McGonagall looked over to Olivia with a faint smile pressed upon her lips. "Your turn, Miss Pruitt." She spoke softly.

Olivia hesitated a few seconds before making her way over to the stool. The darkened office made her feel uneasy for some reason, especially since the pictures of past headmasters' and headmistress' chatted away curiously about the two girls as if they weren't there. Quickly, Olivia looked to her sister who gave her a thumbs up. Olivia shook her head, smiling, and perched herself on the stool.

The sorting hat wiggled around on Olivia's head, scrunching it's wrinkly face as it began to make its decision.

"With the purest of blood, there is no doubt, Slytherin, suits you. However…-" It trailed off.

Olivia blinked confused. "However, What?!" She whispered

The hat shook abruptly, obviously agitated, cleared its throat and began, "Your possess the heart of a Gryffindor, strong, and loyal. But with the lineage of a royal….hmmm…you wish to be put in Slytherin? The choice is yours then. Slytherin!"

As Professor McGonagall reached out to remove the hat it began to shake once again, making the Professor shy away.

"Ah, ah, ah." The hat's tone had dropped an octave. "Be warned child. Use your strength to soothe the battles that will rage within and around you." And with that the hat lay motionless.

_What is that even supposed to mean?! _Olivia thought as the Professor finally took the hat off of her head. She walked over to her sister who was mirroring the same look of puzzlement in her eyes.

"Well, ladies, now that we've gotten that out of the way, I can fill you in on the rules. You will obviously be sitting with the Slytherin table tonight at the sorting ceremony for the first years. I can a..-" She stopped as the door of the office opened, "Albus."

"Minerva."

A tall older looking man with hair as white as snow had walked in greeting Professor McGonagall. He turned to the Pruitt girls and smiled warmly. It was a genuine smile Olivia could tell right away. He must have been Dumbledore. She knew him from the stories her mother told them back home. Alyson smiled back.

"Hello. You two must be Olivia and Alyson, I presume?" His voice was low and almost lyrical.

Olivia answered first. "Yes, sir. You must be Professor Dumbledore?"

He looked to Olivia. "My, my, how you look just like your father. I'm assuming you are Olivia." He turned to Alyson, "And you Alyson?"

Alyson put out her hand. "Yes! It's nice to meet you!"

Dumbledore shook her hand and walked over beside McGonagall. "So have they already been sorted, Minerva?" He asked.

"Yes, sir, both in Slytherin." She replied.

"Ah, good. They may go to the ceremony now if they wish. I can call them in later and brief them on the rules." There was a small glint in his eyes of something Olivia couldn't quite make out.

Professor McGonagall nodded and turned the girls around, taking them by the shoulders out the door and into the large corridor outside. She instructed them where to go and at which table to sit. Olivia got the strange feeling her and her sister would get lost in the large school, but Professor McGonagall reassured them that they wouldn't and that there were students who could help them find their way. She bid them good luck and headed on her way to the Great Hall.

Alyson yawned and punched her sister playfully on the arm. "So which way was it again?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "This way." She grabbed Alyson by her robes and dragged her toward a group of kids filing down a flight of stairs.

"So, Sirius, I heard you got rejected on the train." Lily Evans mocked as she sat down in front of him, a wide grin spread upon her lips.

Sirius Black looked up abruptly from his pumpkin juice and quickly socked an equally shaggy haired boy in the arm. The boy's glasses were now skewed on his face from the jolt.

"Prongs! You told her?" He scowled.

James Potter fixed his glasses and socked Sirius back harder on the shoulder. "No, mate!"

Lily snickered. "No…he didn't. The girl did."

"Of course! Leave it to miss-goody-two-shoes to make friends with a bird like her." Sirius scoffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She retorted.

James shook his head. "Lily-pie, all Padfoot meant was…-"

"Don't call me that, Potter!" Lily fumed.

Sirius smirked. "Girls like you are all the same. That's what I meant. Right, Moony?"

A sandy haired boy looked at Sirius and raised a brow. "No Comment." Remus Lupin was more of a peacemaker in the group and didn't feel like taking part in their argument.

"See!" Sirius pointed to Remus.

"That is not what I mea…-"

"Quite right, though Padfoot!" Peter Pettigrew, the dirty blonde, mousy boy chimed in.

Lily sighed, exasperated and watched in disbelief as the four boys began arguing amongst themselves. _Why do I even bother? _She thought.

"Well, well looks like the new girl finally showed up." James said eyeing Olivia and Alyson as they walked into the Great Hall. He scoffed. "No wonder she snubbed you! She's in Slytherin."

Lily smacked him in the head, making his glasses tilt again. "Slytherin or not, Sirius was still a jerk."

"Ow, Lil." James mumbled.

Sirius watched as Olivia made her way to the Slytherin table. "Well she's sure a loss then. Especially with those legs."

Lily rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?"

Olivia let go of Alyson's robes as they reached the inside of the Great Hall. She quickly looked around for people who had the same color as they did. It was then that she felt the strange feeling someone was watching her. She looked to the red and gold table and saw him again. _Ugh…good. At least he's not in the same house as me. _She thought spitefully.

She saw Lily as well and waved to her, then made her way to her own table with her sister closely behind.

"Hmmm, the girl with her ain't half bad either." Sirius said sizing Alyson up.

Remus looked at Sirius. "Sirius, don't you ever get tired of being a womanizer?"

"Why, no moony, I don't think I do." He said with a philandering grin.

The sisters took seats next to each other as they watched everyone talking about the new year. Alyson bit her bottom lip nervously. Olivia brushed a few loose hairs from her face.

"Hey, do you think we'll make any friends?" Alyson whispered anxiously to her sister.

Olivia was tempted to roll her eyes. "No. I think we're going to be loners." She replied sarcastically.

Alyson shook her head. "No, for real."

"Why does it matter?"

"Becau..-"

The candles that floated above the students began to dim and mimic the night time stars. Professor Dumbledore walked out from behind his place at the elongated teachers table towards a golden podium whose candles were brightly lit. He went on to clear his throat and began a long speech about the new year. The Sorting Ceremony was short and sweet with all the first years eagerly rushing to their house tables. Olivia watched them and felt the exact same way on the inside. Scared. Shitless. She watched as Dumbledore took his place again at the podium.

"Also, I would like you to all know we have two new students all the way from the United States. Miss Olivia and Alyson Pruitt. I hope you all make them feel welcomed here at Hogwarts." He gestured to the Slytherin table and all eyes fell to the two sisters.

Olivia felt her ears heat up as she tried to shy away from all the unwanted attention. Alyson on the other hand, ate it up, and smiled waving excitedly to everyone.

"Very well then, enjoy the feast!" With that the lights returned to their normal brightness.

Food was now appearing on the long tables as students swiftly took up their plates and grabbed whatever they could reach.

"That was so embarrassing." Mumbled Olivia as she covered her face with her hands.

"It's not so bad, actually."

Alyson giggled. "No, my sister just likes to overreact."

"I do not!" Olivia dropped her hands and looked at the boy who was now sitting across from them.

He had lanky black hair straight as a board with a rather immense shine. His pale skin was very noticeable under his black and green robes. He had a coldness to him but Olivia pushed it aside.

"Uh, yea. I guess not." Olivia replied.

The boy took up a goblet of pumpkin juice and took a sip. "My name's Severus Snape. Welcome to Slytherin."


	4. Bad Luck

Later that night the girls found their way with ease to the Slytherin Common room. Olivia intended to ask Severus which way it was but he didn't talk much during the dinner and so she decided it best to just leave him be. The girls followed their group through winding labyrinths of hallways and stairs till they were led down a corridor, stopping in front of a normal looking stone wall. A seventh year repeated the password all the Slytherins' were given by the head of the house, Professor Slughorn. Olivia tried to remember the password was 'Mogenbraum', while Alyson complained of a draft. "You'll get used to it." A curly haired brunette boy told her as they all entered the dungeons leading to the common room.

The sisters' both noticed how quickly the low like ceilings created a Closter phobic feeling as the lamps glowed dimly. There was a roaring fire and over the mantle piece the Slytherin crest. There were high backed, black leather seats that were quickly being occupied by the Slytherin students. Someone had told them that the Slytherin common room was located right beneath the lake. This thought crept into Alyson's head, making her shiver. Olivia wondered how everyone could fit in the room. But they all did.

" 'Ello! You must be the new girls from America!" A very tall girl with bright blonde hair and a heavy British accent shouted over the noisy students. She held out her hand.

Olivia hesitated before shaking it. She looked a bit flighty, but welcoming nonetheless. Olivia opened her mouth to speak but stopped as she noticed Severus walk in almost last of all the other Slytherin students._ I wonder why he's so antisocial?_ She pondered.

"Samantha Burrows. You can call me Sam, though." She said shaking both girls' hands with lots of enthusiasm. "So 'ow are you two liking your stay so fa'?"

Olivia was thrown off by the handshake and question. "Well, just got here, but you know. I'm Olivia by the way."

Alyson scoffed. "She knows already."

"Oh."

"Thas' right!" Sam smiled. "Either of you play Quidditch?" She beamed.

The sister's looked to one another and both shook their heads in unison. The smile faded from Sam's face and was replaced by a small grin.

"Thas' ok! It's probably expected from ya! But if you change your minds let me know!" She grabbed the girl's by the arms and pulled them toward a group of people, "Les' meet everybody else then, eh?!" She laughed.

Sam pulled them toward a group pf people laughing and talking loudly. They didn't seem to notice them as they howled in laughter from something a boy had said. A very handsome looking boy was the first to notice the threesome. He smiled warmly as his eyes fell to Olivia and Alyson.

"Hi there." He greeted them.

_Something about him. _Olivia thought. It felt like maybe they had met before or at least crossed paths, even though she was probably wrong. "Hi. I'm Olivia."

"And I'm Aly."

The boy introduced himself as Regulus Black. He then interrupted the group to introduce them to the girls. They were Evan Rosier, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Anna Lockwood. Evan and Anna were both seventh years where as Rodolphus was Olivia's year.

Alyson cleared her throat. "Are there any fifth years around here? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure I need to find at least one!"

Regulus chuckled. "I'm a fifth year, actually."

"Oh!" Alyson smirked, "Well do you mind filling me in on what I've missed the last four years?"

"Sure."

Olivia watched the two walk near the fire and sit down on the long leather couch. She then turned her attention to the four watching them gossip about something she couldn't make out.

"So tomorrow you'll be getting your schedule." Evan told Olivia, in a low tone.

Rodolphus nodded in agreement. "Hopefully you have some good teachers. All the ones I had last year were rotten."

"Really? Couldn't 'ave been that bad!" Sam questioned worriedly.

Olivia listened.

"Yes! That McGonagall is a total pain!" Anna whined.

"Well of course! She only favors those damned Gryffindors!" Evan interjected.

Sam giggled. "I 'ad 'er! She wasn't too bad!"

Olivia decided to speak up. "She sorted me earlier. She didn't seem so bad to me."

Anna and Evan scoffed. "That's because she's a very good actress." Anna replied.

"You're probably right."

* * *

The next day Olivia and Alyson parted ways in the Great Hall when they both received their schedules. Alyson and Regulus had taken a quick liking to each other from the night before and left together for their first class. Olivia stood right outside the doors to the Great Hall quietly consulting her schedule. _Charms?_ She wonderding which way she was supposed to go.

Finally after walking a ways she spotted Sam walking toward the dungeons. Quickly, Olivia picked up her pace and ran towards her, hoping to catch her just in time.

"Sam!" She called.

The bouncy blonde turned quickly on her heels smiling as she looked to who had called her name. She waited for Olivia to catch up. "Yes?" She implored.

Olivia panted trying to catch her breath. Sam snatched up Olivia's schedule and wrinkled her face up in thought.

"Charms, Eh?" She quickly looked around in each direction. "It's that away! Er…on the seventh floor." she decided pointing east. "You'd better 'urry if you don't want to be late."

Assuming she was right Olivia took back her schedule, thanked Sam, and sprinted her way off in the direction she had instructed. It was four minutes before class started and Olivia skidded to a halt trailing behind a group of Hufflepuff girls entering the classroom. Before she could even think about being late she heard the faint sound of her named being called from….below her.

"Miss Pruitt! Welcome to Charms!" A very tiny goblin looking man appeared before her from behind the Hufflepuff girls scurrying to their seats. He scratched at his white hair and smiled up at Olivia. "I am Professor Flitwick. Why don't you take a seat between Mr. Black and Mr. Tussin so we can begin!"

_Black? Isn't that Regulus' last name?_ Olivia thought scanning the room for maybe a glimpse of someone who looked like him. Professor Flitwick motioned to an empty seat and on the left side was Sirius Black sat there staring with a bored expression out the window.

"You have got to be kidding me." Olivia said, unaware it was out loud.

Professor Flitwick jumped a little shocked. "Excuse me, is there a p-problem?" He stuttered.

Olivia nodded. "Yea, do you think I could sit somewhere else?" She asked as politely as she could.

"Well…not exactly _that _is the only empty space at this moment! Perhaps at another time but for now..-"

Olivia held up a hand in protest. She figured if it meant having everyone staring at her she'd rather take her chances with the boy. "It's alright I can sit there."

"Alright then! Take your seat, pull out your book and wand and we can start class."

She gave him a quick smile which fell of her face as she made her way to her seat. Sirius, however, had noticed her and made it a point to act as coolly as he could. He waited until Jared Tussin was done introducing himself, Sirius turned to her his head resting casually on the palm of his hand.

"So, you just couldn't keep away from me." He said smoothly.

Olivia ignored him flipping through pages in her Charms book.

"Ok, ok. Can we start over then?" Sirius tried to catch her eye.

"Not interested."

Sirius sighed. "Well fine if you're going to be difficult."

Olivia looked at him, giving him a wide grin said, "That's right."

"Alright then!" Sirius said throwing his arms out in defeat. He leaned back in his chair and looked over to James who sat across the rooming trying to keep a straight face, he shrugged and gave a look of sorry-don't-know-what-to-tell-you.

For the remainder of the class Sirius watched Olivia intently. He couldn't understand why this girl was so cold. _So…maybe I was a little forward, but bloody hell girls love that. _He pondered through his mistakes. He tried to talk to Olivia, who was still ignoring his advances, even attempting to apologize which ended up doing nothing but giving him a detention for disrupting the class. By the time class was about to end Sirius had given up and decided that this girl was going to buckle sooner or later; either that or he sooner or later he'd come to just not care anymore.

When finally class ended Olivia wormed her way out of the room hoping as to not be stuck behind with Sirius. She was relived to find that he wasn't directly behind her as she reached the edge of a the large moving staircase. Before heading down she noticed a large poster on the wall beside her which caught her immediate interest. Two teens on broomsticks flew around the poster dodging large black balls trying to catch a very tiny golden one with wings. The poster read:

**Quidditch Try-Outs Today at 1:00p.m.**

**Be There For Your House and Show Your Stuff!!**

**Try-Outs will be held on the field, So Don't Be Late!!**

If Olivia had no interest in wanting to play Quidditch, all those feelings had diminished. She quickly wrote down where to be and the time, stuck the paper in her bag and then quickly headed off to her next class. _Good thing I have a free period around that time. _She thought as she passed a group of Ravenclaw boys playing with a fanged frisbee in the halls. Olivia caught up with Sam and relayed to her that she was in fact going to try out for the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"Thas' great, Olivia!" Sam beamed. "Well I'll teach you all the ropes of Quidditch and we'll 'ave you flying like an expert in no time!" Sam said putting her arm around Olivia's shoulder.

She went on and on about the basics, the positions, strategies and everything else in between. Olivia's stomach gave a jump of excitement as she explained how the little golden snitch fascinated her. Sam said it would be best if she try out for seeker then. Olivia nodded, finding that maybe this was going to be her thing here at Hogwarts.

The rest of her classes remained a blur as Olivia tried to remember everything Sam had told her. She fidgeted through every class until at last she was free to scamper off anywhere she pleased. The Quidditch Field was where she headed.

Sam found her ahead of time and handed Olivia a pair of clothes. She told her she might want to change out of her robes and wear them. Olivia nodded going into the Slytherin locker rooms and changing out of her school robes. She looked into a mirror and liked the way the green and silver robes looked on her. Hurrying, she rushed out of the locker rooms heading back where she left Sam to go change. There instead she saw Lily Evans surrounded by four boys looking feistier then ever.

Lily hadn't noticed Olivia, she was too busy making it a point to get something across to James Potter apparently about his pigheadedness.

"You know I don't even know why I came down here! I could be doing much better things, Potter!" She seethed crossing her arms over her chest. "And I'll have you know…that I really _don't _like your comments. Despite, what you may think!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

"Uh, I really don't think you should be testing Lily right now, Sirius." Remus warned.

"I really don't care, Moony. Really. I'm trying to understand women, but you know these ones I just can't." He pointed to Lily.

James tried to calm Lily down while she made an advance towards Sirius. Remus looked to Peter who was playing with a rock, trying to look like he wasn't paying attention. Sirius snorted as a comment Lily made.

"I'm self centered? Ok, then. If I'm so selfish why is it that girls like that American bitch can't seem to get it through their thick skulls that's just the way I am?" He said closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Thick? So you think girls like being preyed upon, then?"

Sirius quickly opened his eyes and turned around to find Olivia standing there with the angriest look in her eyes. She had originally come over to say 'Hello' to Lily despite the fact that she figured it would end in a fight with Sirius. She was absolutely right.

"Thick. Yea, that's what I said." He retorted a little bit shaken by her presence.

Olivia put her hands on her hips, more to steady herself, so that she wouldn't tackle him to the ground out of fury. "You know if I'm thick, I'm sure as hell glad I'm not a egotistical bastard like you! Where do you even get off?! You don't even know me!" She scowled.

Sirius got real close to Olivia, there faces almost touching. If she weren't so flustered by the anger she felt, it would have sent small shivers down her spine. He didn't say anything, just looked into her eyes. Olivia mentally slapped herself back to reality and pushed him away from her.

"You don't know me either." Sirius finally responded.

"Good. I hope I never do."

Olivia brushed passed him and made her way toward the center of the Quidditch field. _I hope I never see his face again. _She thought completely and utterly livid. _He'll regret ever saying those things. _

Sirius watched her storm off. In reality he didn't mean to come off so cruel. It was just his anger- and yes his ego- getting the better of him. He looked to the four who were now looking back at him flabbergasted.

"Bad luck, mate." James said, "That's all."

Sirius siged rubbing the base of his neck. "Ah..I hope so."


	5. Mr QuizCheater

Days turned into weeks which quickly evaporated to a month. They seemed to fly by without a single thought of hesitation and before the Hogwarts' students knew it…September came and went, within a blink of an eye. Olivia and Alyson were now relatively acquainted with the customs of the school. The two blended in (minus their accents) and had many new friends.

Alyson had rarely been spending time with her sister, seeing as she was always busy with her newfound friends. Everyone seemed to adore her and she simply couldn't get enough of it. Already she had boys chasing after to her each of which would make fools of themselves in the halls and during free periods. Alyson found it to be cute, where as Olivia felt apathy. _Just like Home. _She'd think- every time a boy made a fiasco and was then, rejected.

Olivia was able to make the Slytherin Quidditch team with ease. She was seeker to the dismay of a few seventh year boys who had hoped the 'new girl' would: 'Fall flat on her arse'. The captain, Leon Moeb, called it beginners luck. Sam reassured Olivia that she was great and that they were all just sour at being outdone by a girl. And an American at that. Despite all the luck that was beginning to shine through for Olivia, the fight she'd had with Sirius had left her in a very awkward and uncomfortable position during Charms. Olivia tried her hardest to never acknowledge his presence which became difficult when Professor Flitwick had partnered them together. Olivia bribed Jared Tussin saying she'd do his homework for two weeks if he'd switch partners with her. It worked and Olivia continued with her silence towards Sirius Black.

He had tried to apologize a few times which ended up usually, if not always, with him blowing up on her and making the situation worse. After three days in a row of scenes in the hall and in class they both just shared the silence, letting the tension between them grow stronger after every forty-five minutes of Charms.

It was one day during dinner after a long forty-five minutes with Mr. I-didn't-study-for-our-quiz-today-I-think-I'll-copy-off-Olivia when Olivia decided she would speak to Sirius Black just to watch him squirm.

Olivia sat next to Alyson who was rapidly repeating something over and over again off of a piece of parchment. Regulus had his nose buried in a book reading out loud a sentence every now and then.

Olivia cleared her throat. Alyson ignored her sister, still repeating, where as Regulus looked up acknowledging the older Pruitt sister's presence.

"I don't understand how you two are related." Without looking, Olivia pointed behind her. Sirius Black, who was standing by the entrance, was loudly shouting something that wasn't quite coherent.

Regulus shrugged. "That's a mystery to me as well."

She groaned in hunger. "I'm hungry but I'm not."

"You should eat. You're not going to do well at quidditch practice if you've got an empty stomach. You never seem to eat dinner."

"You sound like my mother."

Regulus shrugged and went back to reading his book. Alyson looked to her sister with hysteria all over her face.

"I. Have. A. Test." Alyson spoke, shushing her sister.

Olivia gave her sister a pat on the head, grabbed a piece of turkey from a platter, and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Alyson called.

Her older sister shrugged, popping a piece of turkey in her mouth, hastily walking backwards. She wasn't actually watching where she was going and when she reached the doors to leave the Great Hall she abrasively collided with somebody she didn't see. Embarrassed -and possibly a little bruised- Olivia stood up and held out her hand to help up the person she'd bumped.

"I'm so sahh..-" She trailed off as Sirius Black rubbed his head trying to get to his feet. Her hand fell to her side. "Then again. No I'm not."

"Why didn't you watch where you were bloody going?!" His voice boomed challenging.

"Because I was walking backwards, genius."

He got to his feet and wiped his robes clean of the dust it had accumulated on the ground. "Ah.." He groaned.

Olivia pushed past Sirius strutting her fastest to get away from him, but before she got out of sight, Sirius caught her attention.

"Good luck tomorrow." He gave a sarcastic smirk.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Looking over her shoulder she replied: "Thanks. Just don't be too shocked when I kick Gryffindor's ass."

He scoffed. "Yea. Right."

"Oh, believe me, I can. And I intend too." Having said those words she went back to her quick strut heading for the doors that led outside to the grounds.

The sun beat down on the older Pruitt as she made her way outside, taking in the scent of the fresh grass that was beginning to grow. It was a perfect day to be outside. Olivia walked over to the edge of the lake absorbing her surroundings. People were laughing, studying or merely just sitting and watching the sky maybe hoping to find something in the clouds they were so intently watching. Olivia took a seat directly a large willow tree gently resting her back against the bark. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. The water splashed unevenly making Olivia's stomach tumble a bit. She was ready to lay down and take a nap when she heard footsteps coming up from behind her.

"Hey, there lazy-head." A very familiar voice called.

Lily Evans along with three other girls, two in Gryffindor, the other a Ravenclaw. They were now standing to the left of Olivia, blocking her direct sunlight.

"You're blocking my sun." Olivia smiled looking up at her.

"Sorry." The girls moved. Except one. "Olivia, this is Angelina, Mary, and Kat"

She motioned to each girl as she spoke. Angelina was a short dirty blonde with a striking pink stripe in her hair. She smiled and held out her hand to Olivia. Mary was an average looking brunette, smiling and waving to Olivia. Kat, the girl who didn't move, was too busy looking at something else, twirling absentmindedly a piece of her long auburn hair.

Olivia raised a brow in her direction.

She looked to Lily and then to all of the girls. "It's nice to meet you guys."

"Likewise." Angelina said.

Mary nodded. "Yes. Right, Katherine?"

Kat rolled her eyes in a bored manner. "Yea. Fantastic." She seemed to have spotted something or someone. "So yea, greattomeetyou. Bye." Her words tumbled over another as she quickly made her way over to a group of boys. At the head of them were Sirius and James, the other two of the marauders trailing closely behind.

"Eh." Olivia let the noise slip through her mouth. "You know I get the feeling she didn't like me."

Lily laughed. "I know. It's just she has horrible taste in boys. She's in love with Sirius Black…er, should I say lust. And, frankly seeing as your not his favorite person. You're not hers either."

"Didn't know I was so popular among you Gryffindor folk." Olivia joked.

Angelina made a noise. "Uh…ya. Them." She pointed to her blue and sliver tie.

"I don't know Sirius _is _kinda hot." Mary shrugged.

"Ugh. You sound like my sister." Olivia teased.

The girls watched as the boys were now chanting something. Olivia turned her attention toward the lake trying her hardest to drown out the noise.

"I wanted to wish you luck tomorrow on the match!" Lily said, having reminded herself why she had come over.

A quick feeling of suspicion overcame Olivia. "Have you been talking to Sirius?"

"What?"

"Nevermind." Olivia smiled. "Thanks. You won't be to bummed if I win it for Slytherin, will you?"

Lily guffawed. "No! That'll show, Potter, he's not so hot after all!"

The girls sat down around Olivia and started talking. Olivia forgot all about her quiet time. She liked having the girls around.

During potions when Olivia was watching attentively a swishing cauldron of a bright blue potion. A Ravenclaw prefect handed her a notice. It was from professor Flitwick saying to meet him as well as Dumbledore in the headmasters office after her potions class. Too transfixed on the note , the swishing potion began to sputter and splash. It finally gave one last manifestation and then turned to a mucky brown. _Great. _Olivia thought. _What else could go wrong?_

At the end of class Olivia nervously put all her books into her book bag and quickly made her way towards Dumbledore's office. The giant marble phoenix brought her face to face behind the wooden door, she gulped, grasped the handle, and opened the door. She noticed that inside was Professor Dumbldore, of course, sitting at his desk. Standing at an angle from the desk near the stairs was Professor Flitwick. And standing on the opposite side of the room was Sirius Black.

"Close the door behind you, Miss Pruitt." Dumbledore quietly spoke.

Olivia did as instructed and then stood next to Sirius. His eyes were scanning the walls trying not to make contact.

"Is something wrong?" Olivia asked, looking to both Professors.

"As a matter of fact there is!" Professor Flitwick piped. "Both your test score answers were exactly the same! How do you two explain that?"

Olivia looked to Sirius who shrugged. She shook her head in disbelief. _So he was really cheating off of me! _She thought turning her attention back to the Professors.

"I'm taking twenty points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Also I'm giving you both detention tomorrow." Professor Flitwick looked to Olivia. "I'm sorry Miss Pruitt but that means you're going to have to miss your match."

Her face went white. "Woah, woah. Wait a second! I have to miss my game, because he's a cheater?!" She pointed to Sirius.

"Now, now. The rules say that both students must be reprimanded." Dumbledore said absentmindedly.

_I don't believe this_. She thought gawking with her mouth open.

"You two are dismissed. Professor will see you both tomorrow at three o' clock sharp." Professor Dumbledore smiled and waved them out.

Outside Olivia pulled Sirius aside and pushed him up against the wall. He was a little thrown off and looked down at her.

"You did this on purpose! I know you did!" She spat.

Sirius sneered. "Oh did I? No, no I don't think so. You see I'm usually very good at not getting caught cheating. So in a sense yea it was my fault. But I didn't do it on purpose." He grabbed her wrists and removed her grasp from his robes.

"Ok like I'm really just supposed to believe that!"

Sirius sighed. "Yea."

Olivia clenched her fists and then crossed her arms. "You'd better hope we're not alone together."

"Why's that?"

"Because I swear I'll hex you." With that, Olivia stormed off towards her Common Room.


	6. Detention

"WHAT??" Leon's shocked voice echoed throughout the common room. "Tell me you're joking, Olivia! Please!"

Olivia shook her head, and kept her eyes averted from the now flaming captain. He yanked at his hair, pacing the floor, muttering too fast for Olivia or Alyson -who was pretending to read- to make out. Sam was also trying to make herself look busy as to not draw too much attention to herself eavesdropping. Leon stopped pacing, his heavy breathing suddenly took an alarming pace as he stared absentmindedly at the wall to his left.

"Uh…Leo-" Olivia started.

"It's ok! We'll just have to use our alternative." He seemed to wince uncomfortably. "Marty isn't half as good as you…but..-"

Olivia sighed. "I'm really sorry. It wasn't my fault."

Leon put a hand up to stop her. "I know. I know."

He sulked way quietly up to the boys' dormitories still muttering away under his breath. Alyson closed the book with a loud thud and threw it to the side. She looked up at her sister who was watching the fire in it's heath dim to a dull flame. The dull light created an eerie shadow on her face, Alyson noticed as she shook her head. Sam rushed over to the two and plopped down on an armchair next to the couch.

"Get over it." She said playfully.

Sam nodded. "We could still win."

Olivia shot her a look. "It's not even about the game! It's the point of the matter! I know Sirius did that on purpose." Olivia flopped down on the couch next to her sister.

"Well," Alyson stretched her arms up, "Maybe he really was _just _cheating."

"You're joking me? You actually are taking that piece of shit story?"

Alyson shrugged.

"Whatever," Olivia started to stand, "That's bull."

Alyson grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her back down. "No. You like to overreact about everything, Liv. Stop and think."

Sam looked at Olivia waiting for an answer. Olivia threw her head back and groaned.

"Well, you never know." Same chimed in.

Olivia finally stood up after a few minutes and exhaled deeply. "I'm going to bed. I'm not going to think about this. Do not remind me when I wake up." She rushed passed Alyson and Sam who were ready to stop her.

The dormitory was dark and only the faint light of a small fire in the middle of the room was the only light that Olivia could see with. She quickly slipped out of her clothes and into her pajamas slung over the four poster bed. Without hesitation she curled up under her covers squinting her eyes shut, trying her hardest to _not _think about the day's events. It became much harder then she expected as, Marty Barnes, sat upright in the shadowy light of the fire, snickering. She got up to 'use the bathroom', muttering little reminders to Olivia.

"Thanks for the perfect kinda screw up I was waiting for, Livvy." She sniggered as she made her way out of the room.

With a groan louder then before, Olivia put the pillow on top of her head, hoping to now achieve falling asleep before asphyxiation.

Even after all the time spent trying to convince herself that she wasn't too blame, Olivia woke up with a pounding headache from lack of oxygen, and guilt throbbing in her stomach. She dressed slowly, ignoring the taunting laughter from Marty's side of the room. Sam kept Olivia busy by talking twenty miles an hour about a quiz she had coming up and asking Olivia to help her study. Olivia was still dreading the match and her detention, no matter how many times she tried to shake it out of her head. Alyson promised her older sister she'd have a stern talking too with Sirius, which usually meant she'd be ferociously rude to him whenever she saw him. Regulus was all but against _that_. Olivia phased in and out of moods from angry to sad to just plain bored from all the lack of interest she was taking in the day.

And then, when it was time for charms, Olivia had 'accidentally' spilled over Sirius' ink and absentmindedly forgot to give him a handout that was mandatory for their next spell. Sirius tried to accept the feeble punishment he was receiving but felt like retorting back with childish attempts as well. He 'unintentionally' scribbled over Olivia's homework as he reached across her to give something to Jared. Then by chance knocked over her books onto the floor as he stretched out his arms. Professor Flitwick _had _noticed their little vendetta but merely figured they'd be in detention anyways.

Finally, as the class filed out of the classroom, Olivia and Sirius sat motionless in their seats trying not to make eye contact with one another.

"Well, detention has begun. However, I am going to view the quidditch match and I expect you two to behave yourselves and to not destroy my classroom in your attempts to destroy each other. I'm locking the door so that you can not leave this room. Understood?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Olivia nodded, Sirius grunted.

"Good."

He scampered out of the room in a hurry, a loud click following his departure. The door had now three curious looking locks all with complicated combinations. Olivia stood up and walked over to the large glass stained window which looked over the grounds a few ways from the match. Students made their way across the green lawn excitedly awaiting to the see the match. Olivia sighed in frustration, her eyes furrowing at the thought of not being able to beat the Gryffindorks. She pressed her face closer to the glass.

"Doing that isn't going to get you outta here." Sirius grumbled nonchalantly.

Olivia shook her head. "Please. Do. Not. Talk to me." She retorted angrily.

Sirius shrugged. "Ok." He leaned back in his seat, putting is feet on the desk table.

After a few minutes of silence Olivia looked to Sirius, with a serious expression.

"You know dropping your books wasn't as bad as spilling ink over my parch..-" Sirius began.

"Why'd you do it?" She asked, her tone careless.

Sirius opened one of his eyes and looked down at Olivia. "I just told you..-"

"No! Idiot. Why'd you cheat off of me!" Olivia retorted, annoyed.

He really did feel bad about getting caught and making her miss the match, but she wouldn't and didn't believe him.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." He yawned.

Olivia cocked her head to the side. "Try me."

Sirius dropped his feet off the table with a loud thud, he stood up and began walking out of the aisle and down the small steps to where she stood. He leaned against the wall opposite her, staring out the window. Olivia felt a rush of blood go to her ears as he then looked directly at her. She quickly looked away and stared back out the window.

"I really didn't mean to get you in trouble. No matter how much you piss me off." He stopped and then continued, "I really needed a good score. I didn't think I'd made it look so similar. Sorry."

_Wow he apologized, sincerely. Maybe he has a soul after all._ Olivia thought, still not taking her off of the quidditch field. She debated whether to reply but decided it best not too.

Sirius sighed. "I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

Olivia laughed nervously, (she found it wrong to accept this apology right away), which made Sirius jump. "Do you know what?" She asked him.

He shook his head knowing she couldn't see. "What? And why did..-"

"I'm sooo gonna get nasty looks from your fan girls. Ya know, being locked in a room with you." A picture of Kat , Marty and half the girls in the school throwing nasty glances made Olivia smirk.

"And you take pride in that?" He asked mirroring her smirk.

Olivia looked at him. "You're not worth losing my self esteem."

"Uh…s'cuse me?"

"Nevermind."

Minutes crept along slowly as the two remained silent for the next hour. Sirius couldn't get Olivia's words out of his head. He kept wondering what exactly she had meant by, 'losing her self esteem'. He kept stealing glances at her as she sat in a corner aisle of the room, writing. He would catch himself when he stared too long, thinking about all the things he disliked about her. Sirius was _seriously _confused about this chick. No matter how many times he pissed her off, he always felt bad about it. No other girl had made him feel so guilty about being mean or rude to them. In general Sirius wasn't really a bad guy, just one that was easily annoyed. But this time he knew maybe he had crossed the line a bit with Olivia. She _was _knew. He hadn't exactly made the best first impression. So, why now did he feel remorse for making her miss her match? Was it because she there in that corner so calm? The way she'd finally let herself forgive him for being an idiot? Or was it the opposite? No girl had _ever _challenged Sirius. He couldn't name one girl who wouldn't die for the chance to speak more then two syllables with him.

Olivia could feel Sirius staring at her and decided to look up in an attempt to make him feel more uncomfortable along with the silence. Sirius caught her eyes and quickly looked away. She smiled. He was just like any other big shot guy who thought he was all that and a bag of chips. Olivia knew these guys. She knew how they should be handled; exactly the same way they handled vulnerable girls who weren't the wiser of their games. Olivia knew too well. Two could play that game. A small smirk appeared on her lips as she looked down to her potions homework.

"Stop staring at me. You're making me blush." Olivia called to him, a malicious tone disguised by a sarcastic giggle.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yea. Ok. You're not _that _good looking." He crossed his arms over his chest and laid himself down across the seats. His eyes were now burning holes through the ceiling.

Olivia chuckled. One thing Sirius and no one really knew besides Alyson was that Olivia was the epitome of a black widow. Back in America she at _boys _like him for breakfast. She sighed contently at the thought of all the boys she put in their place. Sirius looked like he might be a challenge but once his esteem was running on low. Olivia knew she would have him eating out of the palm of her hand. _Call it a gift. _Olivia thought shaking her head smiling wider.

"Olivia? Sirius?" A voice called from outside the door. It was Lily. "The game's ending! In other words Flitwick's coming back so…uh…just be decent ok?"

Olivia snapped her head up at the comment. Sirius seemed to have done the same, as he was sitting straight as a board, looking just as horrified as Olivia. They caught each other's eyes. Without blinking the two sat in silence on opposite sides of the room, both wondering what the other was thinking. The door unlocked, and Flitwick walked into the classroom.


	7. WTF?

Soon after Lily had announced Flitwick's return there was a series of clicking noises and Flitwick entered the room looking very pleased. He had excused the two and told them that for class on Monday they would be guaranteed new seats, far apart from the other. Olivia and Sirius gladly accepted the offer and rushed out of the room. Lily, Sam, Remus, and Peter all lined the wall opposite the room, staring at the two as they came out. Lily was the first to approach them. She grabbed Olivia by the arm, while Sam gathered their bags. The boys stood behind and Olivia could hear Remus saying something about how Slytherin had been crushed. Olivia's face fell and it wasn't till the three reached the stairs that Olivia realized she was literally being dragged by Lily. She planted her feet making Lily stumble a bit and Sam run into the two. The three girls fell to the floor.

"What are you two doing?!" Olivia asked looking at the two, as they tried to stand back up quickly.

Lily shook her head. "No time to explain. Great Hall. Now."

With a swift yank, Olivia was back on her feet this time being dragged along by Sam. She shot Sam a glare.

"Ok You can walk by yourself but hurry up!" Sam let go of Olivia's arm.

The two Slytherin girls struggling to keep up with the red headed Gryffindor had finally made it to the doors of the Great Hall where students were filing in already for dinner. Olivia looked to Sam and Lily for an answer but both of them were too busy looking for someone to notice the expression on Olivia's face.

"Ok now…-" Lily put a hand over Olivia's mouth.

"Shhh!" She whispered.

As a group of girls began walking towards them, Sam immediately stood right in front of Lily and Olivia covering them both with her height. At the head of the group Olivia could see Kat with a sour look on her face being followed by some more Gryffindor girls and a mix of hufflepuff's and ravenclaws. When the group had entered the Great Hall Sam moved out of the way and Lily uncovered Olivia's mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL GUYS!" She shouted.

Lily and Sam both looked to each other. Sam spoke first. "Trust me, we were trying to save you."

Olivia raised a brow.

Lily sighed and turned Olivia towards the open doors where she could see Kat searching for someone intently. Olivia understood. Her assumptions were right.

"Kat's pissed." She smirked.

Lily nodded. "Yea. And that group trailing behind her wasn't a welcoming committee for your return back to being seeker."

Sam rolled her eyes. "I think she gets the point, Lily."

Just then Alyson came running towards them her cheeks a bright red from the jog. "Liv! You're alive!" She hugged her sister then quickly fixed her hair.

"What exactly were they going to do?" Olivia asked curiously.

"For one: They thought it'd be nice to spike your pumpkin juice."

"Or two: Give you some type of bodily injury or hex to keep you in the wing for awhile."

Olivia blinked. "Obsessed much?"

Alyson shrugged. "Apparently they're dating now."

"Really?" Olivia snorted. She couldn't help but laugh. This was exactly the kind of reaction, Olivia had expected from someone like her. "Maybe I should go and have a little chat with her." Olivia started to walk forward.

Sam and Lily grabbed either side of her shoulder pulling her back.

"I really wouldn't do that." Lily warned. "She's not the kind of girl you cross."

Olivia guffawed. "Right." She shrugged off the two girls and rushed in casually behind a group of first years gossiping. She brushed passed them and walked over to Kat, who was now smirking, her hands on her hips.

The three other girls were closing in quickly behind Olivia, Lily caught up the fastest and swiftly positioned herself between Olivia and Kat. Alyson stood on the opposite side of her sister while Sam trailed behind towering over Olivia, her eyes shifting around to people who were now staring at them.

"Looking for me?" Olivia smirked, her tone casual.

Kat didn't answer. She just shrugged, her head tilting toward Lily. "I'm starting to not like the company you make, Lils."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Kat, you're being ridiculous."

"Am I?" She shot a scowl at Olivia. "You think you own this place. Reality check. You don't. Stay away from Sirius." Kat moved closer toward Olivia, their faces almost touching.

"Touchy." Olivia backed up. "I don't have any schemes for stealing your little boyfriend."

"Good."

Kat stood straight and began to turn on her heel. Olivia coughed.

"It's not like I'd have to try very hard, anyway." She murmured.

"What did you say?" Kat shot toward Olivia but was stopped just before she could get in a clear swing at her.

"Babe. Fighting over me already?"

Sirius was now wrapping his arm around Kat's waist, pulling her slender figure back towards him. The entire Great Hall had seemed to stop breathing, there was a deafening silence that had caught Olivia completely off guard. She stared with her mouth slightly open. Alyson nudged her.

"Sirius." Kat blinked, looking up at him and then back to Olivia. "I was just taking care of something unimportant."

Sirius looked at Olivia who's cheeks were now turning a scarlet red. She crossed her arms, gazing intently at him.

Kat twirled herself out f Sirius' arms and laced her hand in his. "This isn't over, Pruitt." She pulled Sirius away and left with her army back out of the Great Hall.

Olivia stood rooted to the spot, still staring in the spot where Sirius was just standing. Lily waved her hand in front of her face. Olivia broke off her stare and lowered her head. She shook her head.

"I just stood there!" She groaned. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Alyson patted her on the back. "Yea, you did. Kinda pathetic."

Sam took a hold of her shoulders and started to lead her out of the Great Hall, following Lily who was nervously playing with the ends of her hair.

_Why didn't I say anything? What could I've said, anyway? _Olivia thought as she was absentmindedly led out onto the courtyard. Sam shoved Olivia a little causing her to lose balance and cling onto Alyson. Lily was walking slowly behind the girls, her arms crossed and her face scrunched up in thought. She seemed to either be thinking deeply, or pissed beyond belief.

Olivia stood up straight and cleared her throat. "You O.K., Lily?" She asked.

Lily shook her head and laughed. "I'm just imagining what tonight in the Common Room is going to be like." She sighed and shrugged. "I should probably go. I have to do some studying for ancient ruins." She waved and hurriedly took off.

Olivia looked to Alyson and Sam who were watching Lily take ff suspiciously.

"You don't think?" Alyson said tilting her head to the side.

Sam shook hers. "No."

"We are Slytherin in case you haven't noticed." Olivia added.

"So? Why does that have anything to do anything?" Alyson said exasperated.

Olivia and Sam shrugged. "In any case I don't Lily to get all caught up in this shit, anyway." Olivia said walking towards the hallway that led to the dungeons.

* * *

Lily had quickly caught up to the marauders who were, as usual, childishly creating trouble for the poor old caretaker. He was scrubbing away some type of slime from the brick walls. James immediately stopped sniggering as he caught sight of Lily walking towards them. He straightened up and approached her rather hastily.

"Not now, Potter." Lily said holding a hand up in protest to his comments.

But it wasn't James who responded. "Your friend isn't much of a people person, is she?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because she pissed off, Kat." She shook her head and started her way through them. "By the way, Sirius. I think you're scared of Olivia."

Sirius laughed coolly. "I'm sure, Lils. You've got me all figured out."

"Oh piss off." Lily called from behind her.

Remus watched Lily leave before asking a simple question. "What?"

Sirius waved his hand. "Nothing."

"That new girl. Seems like she's causing quite a lot of trouble for ol' padfoot here." James smirked. "He's got girls fighting all over the place for him." He patted him on the back.

"Oh." Remus replied. "Seems plausible."

Peter scratched his head. "But what did she do to Kat?"

"Just poised a challenge to her that's all mate." Sirius said smiling rather widely as he put her arm around Peter, shaking him lightly.

The four boys walked down the hall chatting away about women and their mysteries.

Sirius could this coming. Olivia threatened Kat…a lot. He had seen her the first day Lily had introduced the two girls. Olivia was everything Kat wasn't. Witty, curly brunette, tan skin, lavender eyes…Slytherin. It confused Sirius how he thought only about a month ago he couldn't stand Olivia. And now. He was finding her all too interesting. And hating it.

There was a sharp jab to Sirius' left shoulder. Peter groaned.

"Alright, Sirius?" Remus asked. James was laughing.

"I don't see why this is bothering you so much." James sighed. "She's just a girl."

"It's not!"

Peter, Remus, and James all glared. "Sure mate." James smiled. "Just like Lily doesn't occupy every single inch of my head."

Sirius laughed nervously. "Ok, guys." He rolled his eyes to add to the act.

* * *

Meanwhile long after night had fallen, Olivia sat angled on the leather couch in the common room. Her legs dangled over the edge, her body limp and her mind drifting away as she stared innately at the burning fire in the heath. In her hands she had unfinished homework and a dripping quill, leaking ink all over the already black couch. Her eyes were glazed over with sleep as she tried to fight back the urge to close her lids.

_I'm so confused. _She thought, slowly sitting up laying her paper and quill on the floor by her feet. She brought up her knees to her chin and wondered how long she could go playing these games with people that didn't really matter to her.

"It's ridiculous." She whispered to herself. "But then why does it bother me so much?"

She closed her eyes. Sleep took its toll.

"Wake up."

Olivia was being shoved gently. She groaned and turned on her side. "Leave me alone, Mom."

"Um." The voice relied warily.

Olivia blinked before rubbing her eyes an sitting upright in sofa. As soon as her vision cleared she saw Severus Snape hovering over her with a fowl expression etched on his face. "Was I snoring?" Olivia asked lackadaisically.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Hardly. But I was more concerned with the fact that your ink spilt all over the carpet." He pointed to the large black stain on the green carpet.

"Oops." Olivia breathed. She turned back to look at Severus, but he was already making his way back up the stairs. "Hey!" She called.

He stopped. "What?"

"Why are you up so late, anyway?" She asked with sincere curiosity.

"I couldn't sleep."


	8. Fine I'll Go!

Chapter 8:

Olivia didn't sleep much after she was awakened by Severus. Instead she merely stared at the ceiling and only managed to get about an hour of sleep before having to again, wake up for the start of the new day. It was hard for her not want to confront Snape about what in the hell he was doing so late that night. She watched him slink out of the common room floating through people as if a ghost would pass through the living. He was so strange but had an awful alluring mysterious side that made Olivia wonder why no one knew him. She picked up her bag and waited for her sister (who was up late even if she went to bed early) so that they could head to their classes together. Sam had left earlier to get some tutoring for a test she had that day and Olivia, though already awake, didn't feel like waiting for her to get done with ancient ruin babble.

"Ready?" Alyson asked, coming up behind her sister's shoulder.

Olivia jumped. "Uh, heh…Yeah."

There was silence between the sisters as they made their way towards Olivia's class first. Alyson fingered her hair as she glanced at her sister once in while. Olivia tried not to acknowledge the weird behavior her younger sister was displaying. There was a fleeting look shared between the two before Olivia rolled her eyes and said:

"What do you want to tell me?"

The younger sister smiled, pulling out a piece of paper from her bag and handed it over to her sister.

"What is this?" Olivia asked handing back the paper. "I don't do dances."

On a brightly colored orange and black decorated paper was a flier for the first dance of the year which would be in honor of Halloween. Alyson folded the paper in her hands and pouted.

"Why not?" She cried.

The older sister shook her head. "No. Because I said so."

"Fine, be lame! But you're gonna miss out. And besides it's a masquerade! No one will know it's you!"

Olivia had never liked dances. First it was because she was no good at dancing, and second because there would be people who would be attending that she wasn't too fond of. _Although a masquerade could be fun. No! I'm not going if that couple from hell is there._ Olivia thought quickly regretting even thinking of considering going.

"Oh look potions. Thank goodness that was a short walk!" Olivia patted her sister on the head and slid in between two Ravenclaw boys before Alyson could say anything else. _I can already tell she's not going to let me forget about that stupid...oof!_ Olivia had hit a body while she was spacing out. As she looked up she met the cold eyes of Severus Snape. She was sure that he wasn't in her class and yet here he was, standing there brushing off his robes, walking away from her and to the professor. _Huh?_ Olivia thought watching him as she took her seat.

"Why's Severus in our class?" Olivia questioned her potions partner, Gryffindor Brielle Wilkes.

Brielle looked up from her parchment. "Oh. Right, I believe he just got transferred. He was in a lower potions class. I guess he must have just been in the wrong level of potions."

Olivia shook her head and pulled out her books setting them on the table. Her eyes followed the shoes of the quiet Snape, following them to the seat next to her. He held his bag out ready to drop it on the floor, but was hesitant.

He cleared his throat. "Can I sit here?"

"Yea, sure." Brielle answered for Olivia, who at the moment was confused by his very presence.

Olivia looked down at her books and fumbled with her quill trying to get it wet with the right amount of ink. There was an awkward silence that filled the small space between the girl and boy slytherin. Severus wrote down calmly the instructions on the board, every once and while glancing at Olivia with his peripherals. She was resting her chin in the palm of her hand, lazily scribbling down the notes.

"Not very interested in potions are you?"

Olivia blinked and looked around her. "Who? Me?"

Severus rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I hate it. I'm just not good at it." She scoffed.

"I see. So being bad qualifies you to be in this higher level potions class then?" He asked.

Olivia cocked her head to see him. "Excuse me? I just don't get this chapter ok? Mixing solids and liquids is hard for me." The angle made him look dark and scary. Cold.

"Sorry." It seemed like he had smirked but Olivia wasn't quiet sure if he was even capable of that. He always seemed so stoic to her.

Potions was pretty much the same as it always was for Olivia (with just a hint of Severus' snarky comments). As she made her way to Charms the idea of dancing popped into her head, especially since she was going to see the person she liked the least. _I don't hate anyone…but man does that dog come close._ Sirius stood outside the classroom, leaning up against the door, running a hand through his hair attempting to be cool. Olivia averted her eyes from the pretentious fool and began to wonder where her new seat would be.

The doors opened and the students filed into the classroom. Olivia and Sirius both reported first to Professors Flitwick's desk. Sirius coughed trying to get Olivia's attention while to no avail. She kept a straight face and looked only in front of her.

"Ah, Miss Pruitt and Mr. Black." The tiny professor fumbled through some papers and then looked back to the two, "Miss Pruitt will be switching seats with Miss Cawthorne across the room. I presume that is alright with the both of you."

The two students nodded in unison. Olivia glanced at her seat and at that moment realized her seat was going to be no better than the last. James Potter waved down to Olivia who was trying her hardest not to scream bloody murder at the top of her lungs. She took in a deep breath as she made her way up to her new seat from hell. James had a grin that stretched from ear to ear. He was anticipating his new partner with open arms. Sirius on the other hand was a bit wary of the situation. Although James was his best friend he was unsure about what kind of conversations the two would have concerning him. He'd jut have to wait and see.

"Well, Potter. Looks like we're partners." Olivia commented without looking at him directly.

"Ah, yes," Was all he replied with. "So Olivia, is it?"

Olivia nodded. "Yea?"

"Well, I was wondering if you had a date to the mas—"

She cut him off. "Not going."

James blinked, lifting his head of the desk. "Well aren't we all excited?" He chuckled. "It was just a simple question. I heard someone wanted to ask you."

"Like I care."

He smirked. "Oh I believe deep down you are very interested in that sort of information."

The newly irritated Slytherin girl furrowed her brows, concentrating on the pages in the book in front of her. "Fine I'll bite."

James took a moment to gather his thoughts. He reached out to Olivia and gently shifted her face by her chin so that she was somewhat looking in the general direction of Sirius Black. Olivia took a moment to receive the indirect information.

"Nice try. I know he has a girlfriend. And besides what in your right mind makes you think that I would be happy about that? Has it slipped your mind that I am completely…-"

"Smitten?" James finished, removing his hand from her face.

She clenched her fists. "No. Not in the very least. Piss off."

"Oooh, touchy."

The sounding bell that let the students free to go for the rest of the day couldn't have come any sooner for Olivia then for any other student. She rushed out of her last class, speeding through the hallways towards the Quidditch field for practice. It was all she needed to get her mind off the day that had gone from bad to worse. If she could just get their sooner it would make her so much happier than she currently was. First years moved in awkward motions so that the racing sixth year could reach the doors quicker than the speed of light.

"Liv!" A familiar voice called from behind.

She spun around to come face to face with Samantha. "Hey, hurry up! We'll be late for practice."

Sam slowly made her way over to her friend. "Uh, sorry love but practice is canceled for today. Leon got sick. That's what I came to tell ya."

Olivia's face fell. "What?!"

"Yup, came down with some type 'o flu." Same twirled a blonde curl with her index finger.

"Well. What can I do?" Olivia sighed and limped away with a broken soul.

"Liv. Are you go-"

"NO!"

Sam cocked a brow. "I was just going ask if you were gonna go to dinner right away."

Olivia rubbed her temples. "Sorry. No. You go on without me. I'm bushed."

"Are you sure? I don't believe you."

"Yea. I got loads of homework. Really I'm fine!" Olivia flashed her best fake smile.

The blonde though still not convinced accepted the explanation and headed towards the Great Hall. Olivia began in the opposite directions toward the common room. As she made her way her thoughts raced about why all of the things that occurred went off so badly. As she walked she heard faint voices coming from in front of her through the hallway that crossed over the one she was walking into. She stopped short and waited for the small crowd to pass. The voices grew louder. The girl's voice was the only one recognizable to Olivia's ear.

"Lily?" She whispered.

"Look you really need to stop messing with her head." Lily scolded.

There was a rough scoff. "Oh please. I've done nothing of the sort. It was poor prongs here that put the idea in her head."

Olivia wanted so badly to jump into the conversation and just beat the living crap out of Sirius. She pressed herself up against the cold stone wall so as to not be seen.

"Really. It was all in good fun. To think you two actually being serious and civilized. Especially _her_?" He laughed.

Sirius and the rest of the marauders all laughed as well, minus Lily.

Olivia had heard enough. She pushed herself off the wall and began walking furiously passed the retreating Gryffindors. Her pulse was racing fed by anger and hurt. _How could Lily just not defend me? I thought we were supposed to be friends. _

"How could they? Where do they draw the line?" She whispered to herself.

As the fuming Slytherin walked into the common room she found her sister sitting comfortably on one of the black leather couches, reading. _That's something you don't see everyday. _Olivia plopped down next to her, going out of her way to disturb her.

Alyson smirked and put the book down. "What's up sis?"

Olivia sighed. "As if you don't know."

"I can't read minds. So yea I don't know." She sat Indian style taking a piece of her sister's shiny black hair between her fingers.

"I just had a really bad day. That's all." The older sister lowered her head in defeat.

"I really think you should go to the dance. It'll be fun. I promise."

* * *

As the days went on Olivia awoke to the same routine: Classes, Quidditch, homework, sleep. Nothing really broke the monotonous routine other than her sister's persistent attempts to interest her with the allure of the Halloween ball. Which always ended the same; Olivia objecting to the idea and once again trying to push the thought out of her head for the rest of the day. Potions was surprisingly normal. Severus was a good partner and Olivia actually found that she was learning something in the class. However, Charms just felt hopeless. Putting up with James Potter was almost as bad as sitting next Sirius. He was persistent in talking never giving Olivia a moment to form a thought. It was usual pointless mumbo jumbo about nothing in particular. She would just have to develop the art of ignoring his bothersome voice and concentrate on ways she could hex his mouth shut. As the days began to melt into weeks the Ball was approaching at a rapid pace. Girls and guys were getting excited just by looking at the bright huge fliers that aligned the alls at every turn.

"The trip to Hogsmeade is going to be fun. I wish the time would speed up though!" Alyson chirped one day while the two sisters were lounging on the grass next to the Lake.

"Awesome." Olivia replied bitterly.

Sam shook blades of grass out of her hair as she sat up from the grass. "Oh come on! Surely you can't be upset about a trip to Hogsmeade."

Olivia sighed. "I'm not. I'm just tired." She looked to Lily who was fumbling with something in her bag. "What are you doing, Lils?"

"I'm looking for my galleons." Lily said still searching through her bag.

"Oh." Olivia was still a bit P.O-ed about was she heard the other day but decided it best to let it go. Maybe Lily did try to defend her after Olivia left.

A whistle blew somewhere behind the girls. The teacher-chaperones were starting to arrive towards the train and the students.

"Thank Gawd.' Olivia sighed as she sat up excitedly.

The four girls quickly gathered up their belongings and rushed toward the increasing crowd of people near the teachers as they tried to make their way toward the train doors. By the time the girls had reached one of the entrances to the train, Lily had slipped way from the remaining three slytherin girls.

"She muttered something about having to keep her fellow Gryffindors' in line." Alyson remembered just before Olivia or Sam could question about her whereabouts. They both accepted that idea seeing as Lily was a Gryffindor prefect.

Inside the train was complete mayhem. Since only the upperclassmen were on this trip to Hogsmeade they had all seemed to let their hair loose, running wild through the train halls. The three friends pushed their way past excited students carrying on their rowdy antics before the teachers actually boarded the train and could conduct some order. It was pure luck that the girls found an empty compartment near the caboose of the train. Even if they did have to share it with someone else, the trip to the small wizarding town was fairly short. However no matter how short, Alyson had managed to fall asleep just as soon as they left Hogwarts.

Olivia was thankful for her own reasons for the ride being so short. She had managed to have a normal ride without having the urge to rip out someone's heart. Of course it wouldn't just be anyone's heart….no; it had to be from someone whose face she couldn't stand to look at for more than five seconds, which only included two people. There was also no mention of that stupid Masquerade, even though the whole idea of coming to Hogsmeade was based around the dance. And if it wasn't for her sister, Olivia wouldn't be getting standing outside of the not-so-small dress shop with Alyson, Sam.

"This is Ridiculous." Olivia crossed her arms, making it hard for a petite witch to measure her bust. "I can't believe I'm even here."

No matter how many times Olivia had protested to her friends about not attending the Masquerade, they wouldn't hear anymore. Somehow they had all managed to convince her that she should go, even if only for a little bit. That and Alyson had promised to pay half for the dress.

"It's for your own good, really." Sam chuckled.

"Yea! Trust us!" Alyson remarked, grinning widely.

Olivia rolled her eyes and finally began to cooperate with the petite seamstress. She put her arms up. "Fine. But I want ice cream after this." She shot a glare at Alyson. "And you're buying!"

Alyson smirked. "Of course."

Meanwhile, as the girls were getting fitted for dresses, the boys of Hogwarts seemed to have it fairly easy. Their dress robes were all gotten in advance before school even started. Most of them weren't as prepared but for the marauders a trip to Hogsmeade was just the vacation they were looking for. The four boys wandered the streets after a nice drink at the Three Broomsticks, taking in the pleasant cool autumn air. They strutted down the street with alarming confidence; for the marauders knew Hogsmeade like the back of their hands.

"Feels so good to be back in Hogsmeade." Sirius chuckled.

"Oye, it's been ages mate!" James winked, slapping Remus on the back.

Remus brushed loose hairs from his eyes. "Come on guys, let's not take _this _kind of visit for granted."

Sirius ruffled up the loose hairs Remus had just fixed. "Yes, you are oh so right, Moony." He paused. "Besides, look at all these pretty witches."

All four boys took a second or so to admire a group of seventh year girls walking by towards the dress shop that the boys were standing in front of. They giggled and clumsily entered the store. The marauders had now shifted their attention to the window that housed way too many girls in one vicinity, all looking for the same thing: A dress.

"Maybe we shouldn't be watching them from the windows like this." Peter whined, wringing his hands together nervously.

Before either James or Remus could put their two cents in, a very familiar girl with wavy black hair had emerged from one of the dressing rooms. She covered her face in embarrassment as she made her way towards her friends.

"Hold on a tick. Who's that?" Sirius wondered out loud.

The girl was still covering her face as she finally reached her friends. She was wearing a fitted, knee length, red velvet dress. Her legs were a bit shaky as she stood a little more then awkwardly in her high heels. James and Remus came up close to the window, eyeing the girl.

"Hey, that's…that Slytherin girl. The one from charms." James concluded.

Remus nodded. "Her name's…-"  
"Olivia." Sirius finished.

James, Remus, and Peter all turned to look at Sirius, a confused expression all plainly written on their faces. It took Sirius a while to figure out that his three friends were all staring at him. He shook his head and held up his hands, shrugging.

"What? She's hot! I know their names." He looked over his shoulder. "Especially, when they have bodies like that." He threw a grin to his friends. _Oye._ He thought.

"Right. And here I was hoping to see a side of you I thought I never would." Remus remarked sourly.

"Dang!" Peter laughed. "Would've been a real treat to see."

Sirius smacked Peter across the back of the head. He then lunged for Remus but was too slow and nearly missed him.

"Come on guys we need to find some new tricks at Zonko's." James reminded the now arguing trio.

Before the three could answer, the large woman who owned the dress shop took a broom to the window and knocked on it. "YOU BOYS GET AWAY FROM HERE!!!" She yelled waving the broom menacingly in her hand.

The marauders took off towards the direction of Zonko's at warped speed. The girls' closest to the window turned to look at the fleeing boys, laughing at their expense. Olivia quickly turned as well to watch the scene and wondered what kind of perverts would actually peep on girls' in a dress shop. She giggled and went back into the dressing room to change out of her dress.

"I love strawberry!"

"Are you kidding? That's so plain! Try pumpkin at least!"

Olivia was debating whether to stay conventional or to branch out into the wild world of wizarding flavors. Sam urged her to try something she wouldn't ever have tried back home. Alyson waited patiently outside sipping her sherbet shake. She had given Olivia the money, knowing very well how long her sister would take to choose something. Anything. Olivia sighed and decided to try the peppermint, chocolate twist. The frustrated grin turned to a wide smile on the server as he gladly took Olivia's money and quickly retrieved her ice cream. Sam hurriedly ordered after and the two went outside to meet Alyson. Lily had found her way to them and was chatting up Alyson about something to do with butterbeer.

"Hiya Lily!" Sam called as her and Olivia took seats.

Lily smiled. "Get your dresses?" She asked.

Olivia looked away and halfheartedly listened to the conversation around her. She wasn't directly being asked anything, so she thought it best to wander in her thoughts. Her biggest concern was being apart of a dance she had no desire to attend. Her mask was already taken care of but really what was the point of going? She didn't dance and even is she wanted too dancing by her self didn't exactly sound like a blast. The other thing that bothered her was the conversation she heard in the Hallway. It bothered her to know people were making fun her behind her back, and the fact that Lily didn't try to stand up for her. It was hard to push it out of her mind. Olivia took a spoonful of ice cream, stuck it in her mouth, and quietly sulked.


End file.
